Device integration has been, and will continue to be, an important design factor in the integrated circuit manufacturing industry. As the degree of device integration continues to increase, so too does the importance of device isolation. Device isolation ensures that devices are adequately isolated from each other as needed. Shallow trench isolation (STI) is a commonly-used isolation technique as it may allow for the formation of isolation structures in smaller dimensions and may also avoid bird's beak encroachment and other problems sometimes associated with local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS) and other isolation techniques.